at Pekin, to submit the reasons of his refusal, in writing, to his Imperial Majesty. What! reject the Emperor's bounty? observed the Mandarins. His Lordship again repeated his regret and his last proposition, which was positively rejected by them.

"An appeal was then made to Lord Amherst's paternal feelings; and it was asked, whether he would be so wanting in affection, as to deprive his son of the honour of seeing the Emperor. Much of the same ground was repeatedly gone over on both sides. The certain displeasure of the Emperor, and the actual compliance of Lord Macartney, were repeatedly urged by the Mandarins; the latter position was again strenuously denied by Lord Amherst, and the commands of his Sovereign were pleaded and pressed as the ground of refusal.

"Finding that nothing was to be gained, a disposition to yield was manifested by the Mandarins, and they rested their case upon the great personal responsibility they should incur by acceding to the Embassador's proposal; they asserted that they dared not report such a circumstance to the Emperor. Lord Amherst observed in reply, that he could not possibly anticipate the Emperor's being dissatisfied with the same demonstrations of respect that had been accepted by Kien-Lung, his illustrious father. They then declared, that the Emperor Kien-Lung had been much displeased, and that the Princes and Nobles had considered it most extraordinary that they should prostrate themselves, while the English remained standing. His Lordship answered, that his object was to combine a proper manifestation of respect to his Chinese Majesty with the duty he owed his own Sovereign, and the positive commands he had received upon the particular point; that whatever might be the particular ceremony performed, the respect he felt in his heart for his Imperial Majesty could not be thereby augmented. The Mandarins observed, that the feelings of the heart were best shewn by actions, and that Lord Amhorst's refusal evinced a deficiency in proper sentiments of veneration.

Soo-ta-jin, who had hitherto only interfered to assert positively from his own knowledge the compliance of Lord Macartney with the ceremony both at Pekin and Canton, now entered fully into the whole question, observing that our trade at Canton might materially

suffer from the displeasure of the Emperor: another remark was made respecting the possible anger of his Imperial Majesty towards the King of England; this observation Mr. Morrison very properly refused to interpret. At length they said, that they would not insist upon the performance of the ceremony on the present occasion, but that they threw the responsibility of the corsequences upon Lord Amherst, and that they could not pretend to say whether the Embassy or presents would be received; adding, that it would be well to consider the discredit among other nations which such a dismissal would reflect upon our own country. Lord Amherst declared, that the conscious. ness of obeying his Sovereign's commands would relieve him from all uneasiness; that what he proposed to do, namely, to make a bow before the table, was the same honour that was paid by the members of the Chief Council of the nation to which he belonged, before the vacant throne of the Sovereign, and that more ought not to be expected from him.

"The point was here finally given up; and Lord Amherst, in expressing his satisfaction said, that to evince the sincerity of his disposition to conciliate, he would, although it was customary only to bow once before the throne of his own Sovereign, not hesitate to make as many bows on the present occasion as they did prostrations; the Chinese, with characteristic illiberality, endeavoured to graft upon this voluntary concession a demand that Lord Amherst should kneel upon one knee; this proposition was, of course, resisted, and the discussion seemed about to be renewed, when they abandoned their position, and we proceeded to the hall of reception, the conference having taken place in an inner apartment, Lord Amherst, his son, the Commissioners, and Mr. Morrison, being present. When at the door, Kwang in a friendly manner entreated us to reconsider the consequences that might result. It was observed, that there was no necessity for reconsideration or consultation, as we had no option.

"On entering the Hall, we placed ourselves before the table, the front of which was covered with yellow silk, and a lighted censer placed upon it. We bowed nine times, in unisou with the prostrations of the Mandarins; Soo tajiu, Kwang-ta-jin, and six others, went ̧

through the ceremony. The upper part of the Hall was raised a step, and in this compartment the two chief Mandarins, Lord Amherst, his son, and the Commissioners, seated themselves; the two Mandarins being on the left, all the other Chinese were seated below them on the same side, and the Gentlemen of the Embassy opposite; a handsome din. ner, in the Chinese style, was then served, accompanied by a play; but of these hereafter.

"When dinner was over we returned to the inner apartment. After taking our seats, Kwang-ta-jin observed it was not well, and declared his fear of the Emperor's displeasure. Lord Amherst. again repeated his conviction that the Emperor could not be dissatisfied with his having paid the same homage that be addressed to the throne of his own Sovereign. The ceremony to be performed in the presence of the Emperor was now brought forward by the Mandarins: Lord Amherst then distinctly stated his intention to kneel upon one knee, and make his obeisance in that posture; he added, that the practice at the English Court was to kiss the Sovereign's hand. At this latter circumstance, they, as was expected, shook their heads, and made some feint attempts to renew the general discussion; the determination that was manifested, however, induced them to desist, and they merely affected not to understand the ceremonial proposed by Lord Amherst, which was again explained, but without effect. They then proposed that his Excellency should at the moment go through it; he replied, that it could not be performed by him before. any other person but the Emperor; they observed, that their wish was not that he should then perform it to any one, but merely that, from seeing it actually gone through, they might be able to make a more accurate report to his Imperial Majesty. Sir George Staunton then happily suggested, that Lord Amherst's son should perform the proposed ceremony before his father. Chinese usage was so completely in accordance with this manifestation of respect from a son to his father, that every difficulty or objection to any previous practice by Lord Amherst was removed, and the proposition was instantly admitted. The Chinese did not appear dissatisfied with the appearance of the ceremony thus performed, but said that kissing the hand would not

be allowed. Lord Amherst, of course, did not object to the omission. The number of times was then discussed, and Lord Amherst stated that once was the usage of the English Court; that he had been induced to bow nine times before the table, from a feeling that his remaining standing, while they were in the act of prostration, would not have had a good appearance; but that his demonstration of respect was not, in his opinion, increased by the repetition; should however they, or other high officers of state, be present at the audience with the Emperor, he should not hesitate to repeat his bows as often as they did prostrations. The Manda-t rins said, that none but his Lordship, and the gentlemen then present, would be called upon to perform the cere mony at the audience, and that a repetition of nine times would be expected. Lord Amherst replied, that to shew his disposition to gratify the Emperor, he was ready to consent to his wishes in this respect; although he must again repeat, that the respectful character of the ceremony was not, to his feelings, in the least heightened. The Mandarins then proposed that Jeffery should prac tise the ceremony nine times before them; to this Lord Amherst objected, considering it too serious a business: to be trifled with; the precise mode of the ceremony having been again, distinctly stated, the discussion closed. Lord Amherst then took an opportunity: of expressing his satisfaction at its termination, and his personal gratification/ at the kindness and attention they had shewn him. They replied, that they had merely obeyed the orders of his Imperial Majesty."

The next day the Embassy quit Tiensing. On their way, various discussions occur with the Mandarins, respecting the band belonging to the Embassy, the sailing of the English ships from the coast, &c. On the 16th of August, the more important topic of dispute is renewed.

"We were called soon after day. light to Lord Amherst's boat to meet Soo and Kwang, who, it appeared, had last night received a communication from Pekin. Instead, however, of coming themselves, Chang and Yin/ were sent. They immediately alluded to the edict just received, which they said contained a strong expression of: the Emperor's displeasure at the occur rences at Tien-sing; that he severely.

blamed the Mandarins Soo and Kwang for having allowed us to proceed; and, finally, that he was determined not to receive the Embassador unless the ko. tou was complied with. Chang and Yin were sent by the two superior Mandarins to obtain a categorical answer, upon receipt of which, they themselves would visit the Embassador. Lord Amherst, in reply, while he endeaYoured to convey to them an impres sion that he was not disposed to yield, wished to avoid giving the categorical answer required; and therefore said, that these were high matters of state, and were not to be dismissed with a mere yes or no; that the discussion upon this particular had been hitherto conducted by Soo and Kwang, and that it was better it should continue in the same hands; though at the same time he could assure them, that his refusal to communicate his answer to them did not arise from any want of regard or respect Chang observed, that this refusal rendered them nugatory; and Yin said, that he could not go back without an answer. Finding, however, that Lord Amherst was inflexible, they retired, and in a few minutes Soo and Kwang arrived.

"Their countenances shewed much uneasiness, and they commenced by expressing their regret at our want of disposition to please the Emperor. As it was of importance to receive an official Intimation of the contents of the Emperor's edict, Lord Amherst, without noticing their observation, formally requested information upon the subject. Kwang replied, that their conduct in allowing the Embassy to proceed beyond Tien-sing was severely censured; that the edict asserted Lord Macartney's compliance with the kotou, and called upon Sir George Staun ton as an evidence to the fact; and, finally, that the presents were ordered to be sent back, and that the Emperor could not receive the Embassador unless he performed the Tartar ceremony; for their own part they had only to request a simple answer, yes or no. Lord Amherst said in reply, that his object had been to combine demonstra tion of respect to his Imperial Majesty with obedience to the commands of his Sovereign, and that he had flattered himself the readiness evinced by him to approximate the ceremony he proposed to that required by Chinese etiquette, would have proved satisfac

tory to the Emperor; that the difference was scarcely perceptible, and was made in compliance with orders which he dare not disobey. Kwang said, that no doubt the Embassador was obliged to obey his Sovereign, as they were the Emperor It is to be observed that the word Whang-te* was applied by the Commissioner to both Monarchs.

"Some discussion then arose upon the general question, in the course of which the Mandarins observed that the ko-tou was required from all foreign Embassadors; and the Siamese and Japanese were instanced. It was answered, that these nations could neither be classed in point of civilization nor power with the English. This was readily admitted by the Mandarins; who said, that the treatment of their Embassador was by no means so honour able. They then proceeded to enumerate the pleasant mode in which his Imperial Majesty had arranged that the stay of the Embassador should be employed at Pekin. Lord Amherst could only, of course, express his regret that circumstances should prevent him from availing himself of the Emperor's intended kindness. They then asked whether Lord Amherst's son came by the Prince Regent's orders. Lord Amherst said, that he came with the Prince's knowledge; but the principal object in bringing him was, that he himself might be enabled to superintend his education. They then remarked the extraordinary kindness of the Emperor in admitting him to the honour of an audience, when it did not appear that he held any official situation. Lord Amberst said, that he could not be considered wholly without official station, acting as he did in the capacity of his page, an office always held by young gentlemen of rank, and not unusually attached to embassies. The Mandarins now ob served, that the admission of his son's tutor to the entertainment must also be considered a proof of his Imperial Majesty's favour.

Lord Amherst terminated these observations by calling the attention of the Mandarins to the subject immediately before them; and said, that under the present refusal of the Emperor to dispense with the ko-tou, be had a proposition to make, which, he trusted, would completely evince his anxiety to

A title generally confined to the F`rapë. rov.

bring the discussion to an amicable termination: the commands of his Sovereign were too precise to admit of a departure from them without some reciprocal concession, that he therefore had to propose, that a Tartar Mandarin, of equal rank with himself, should perform the ko tou before the picture of the Prince Regent, in which case he was prepared to comply with the Empe ror's wishes. The Mandarins said, that this propositson was inadmissible, for that the ko-tou would in this case be performed by the Mandarin before a shadow; that it would be different if the proposition bad been made in our own country, but brought forward under actual circumstances, it was wholly inapplicable; though pressed upon the point, they would not admit any similarity between Lord Amherst's equivalent and the occurence at Tiensing. The Embassador then observed, that he had made the proposition in conformity with the example of Lord Macartney, who had proposed a similar equivalent to the ministers of his Imperial Majesty's father, with whom it had probably operated as a proof of Lord Macariney's sincere disposition to pay him every reasonable mark of respect, for that he had finally consented to receive his Lordship with the European ceremonial.

"The Mandarins still refusing to consider the proposition as admissible, Lord Amherst said that matters of this high import were not to be dismissed so hastily, and that he should put into their hands a memorial upon the subjeet, for transmission to the Emperor. They declared that they dared not transmit any paper containing such a request.

"Lord Amherst then, claiming their most serious attention, said, that he had still another proposal to make, which he trusted would prove more consistent with Chinese usage; that his reason for declining compliance with the ko-tou being an apprehension that it might derogate from the dignity of his own Sovereign, it was necessary that he should obtain some document to prevent any such inference being drawn; and therefore he had to request, that in return for his performing the ko-tou, his Imperial Majesty would issue an edict, declaring that any Chinese Embassador, who might hereafter be presented at the English Court, should perform the Tartar obeisance before his Bri

tannic Majesty. The Mandarins both exclaimed, Impossible. this is more objectionable than the other. Lord Amherst then said, that he would commit both propositions to writing, to be by then transmitted to the Emperor: to this they gave a decided nega. tive. Lord Amherst suggested, that they themselves should submit the two propositions, in whatever mode. they deemed most expedient. The Mandarins having also objected to this suggestion, Lord Amherst informed them that all access being thus denied to the Empe ror, he had only to declare his readiness to return. The Mandarins expressed their regret; and said, that they saw no alternative between compliance and return, but that they would report what had occurred to his Imperial Majesty, and in the mean time they would move a short distance down the river, to a more convenient situation. They were evidently much distressed at the turn affairs had taken, and incidently said, that probably other persons would be sent to reconduct us. Soo+ ta-jin concluded by repeating several times the words Teen ye!" the will of Heaven!" I must confess that I was most anxious to bring the transmission of the memorial to an issue, as the refusal is a sufficient proof of the hope. lessness of any attempt at negociation, and in my view of the subject, is the best reason for withdrawing."

(To be concluded in our nexl.)

Modern Manners ;.

or, A Season af, Harrowgate. Two Vols.

In these times of speculation and improvement, it is gratifying to perceive that the art of novel-writing has not been neglected, but has undergone a very salutary reform. Some years ago, the rage for romances was so great, that no tale of imagination had any chance of success if it assumed a later date than the fifteenth century The scene must be laid in a forest, a castle, or an abbey : the actors must be barons, knights, and dames of high degree; and the plot must be little short of an affair of state. This might be called the Gothic fashion of writing. The splendid success of one or two master pieces gave rise to a multitude of modern antiques, constructed on the same plan, but abounding in anachronisms the most preposterous, and incongruities the most absurd. This extravagance has at length